Live action
by elany
Summary: When a man is tired of London he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford. However, Arthur still finds himself bored all too often. And now a weird boy he picked up on the net has even weirder ideas how to change that.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I should be writing Soul instead of making new fanfics. Especially fanfictions as absurd as this one. If you, my dear reader, are by any chance familiar with my other story, I have a warning for you. They are nothing alike. But really, that's beside the point.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own. But I just got a set of 36 Copic© markers. Those are mine! Not made by me though…**

* * *

Awful. Both, autumn and summer season, were just awful. And even that's probably an understatement. The bloody harem trend that seems to be going around this year is taking opportunities for any anime with actual plot to be aired. In the middle of October I got so frustrated with the whole thing I almost ripped half of my hair out in an anger fit. However, with winter season came a surprise. And a fairly good one. Amongst all of the terrible series there was a real pearl. Weird humor, historical setting and a butt load of girls - this Hetalia thing may just prove itself a roleplay worthy material.

* * *

Surrounded by dull monitor light, a teenager sat in his chair, doing exactly the same thing he had been for the last few hours. The coffee set on the table next to him had gone cold long ago, and his mother had given up on trying to get her son to eat dinner with the rest of the family even faster than the coffee had cooled. However he did not notice any of that, much less care. With the speed of a professional, he typed his reply, attention solely on his computer, or rather, on the person he was talking to. A small chuckle emerged from him as he finished his typing with the soft click of "enter." After just a few seconds, a loud beeping sound announced that the person on the other side had answered already.

[For once, Igiko didn't care about being a lady. Remembering her pirate days, she leaned into the annoying blond girl who wouldn't leave her alone, smirking with malice.

"Oh yes, what a splendid idea. Not. Give me one reason why I should have lunch with you," she said with false sweetness in her voice.]

Leaning back in his chair, the blond boy reread the paragraph. He reached for his 'til now forgotten coffee, realizing only then that it had gone cold a while ago. With a childish whine he put the cup back down, focusing his attention on the words on the screen once again.

Arthur was in a bad mood, huh? Otherwise he rarely put Igiko into "pirate mode." Alfred had been roleplaying with him long enough to know that. The thing he still didn't know though, was what the other was going to do next. When in a bad mood, his roleplay partner tended to match his character's mood to his own, quite often making them lose all the progress in their characters' relationship they had made. And right now, that was the last thing Alfred wanted to happen. Actually, the alternative was possibly even worse. Dealing with Arthur verbally attacking him was rarely much of a joy. Thinking about what was better to do at the moment, he silently cursed under his breath. And he'd been hoping there would be some action this time!

Sighing, the boy decided against continuing with the roleplay, in favor of asking the other what was wrong. He wasn't expecting to get a truthful or at least a nice reply. Mentally he was already preparing for yet another tantrum the other was sure to throw. Even if the answer would be "I'm fine, git," in the end. However, he was not expecting, nor was he prepared for, the cold shoulder he got.

[Look. We are roleplay partners. Not friends, nor anything else. Therefor it's not your place to know or ask about my personal life.]

However harsh the other boy normally was, he didn't usually shut him out like this. But for some reason he wanted to know even more now. It wasn't just curiosity; he wanted to know so he could help him, even though he knew full well he'd be unable to do anything. Still, he could try at least.

[That so? Then why don't we go out once? You said you're from around Ealing, right? It shouldn't take you much more than twenty minutes by subway to the center. We could meet at Bond Street Station! Then we wouldn't be strangers anymore.]

[That's about the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Not going to happen. I have to go now.]

A loud beep signaled that the other had gone away already. Alfred put his hands behind his neck, looking at the ceiling, or where it would have been if the light was on. The other boy was sometimes quite a handful. But, he still wished that Arthur would stop distancing himself like that. He barely even knew the boy's name! Every time he wanted to know more than that, even if it was a minor thing, the other would quite literally run away. And what was going on in the other's head, about that he had absolutely no idea.

* * *

Living with three older brothers and one younger half-brother could easily be considered hell. Even those who actually liked to live with a big family would go insane with his siblings. Drunkards of older brothers and an annoying little twat. What a joy. No wonder he just wanted to be left alone, in his cosy room, which he luckily didn't have to share. Not that it mattered, what with one or another member of his family constantly barging into his room.

After an especially frustrating encounter with the youngest of his brothers, Peter, the last thing he needed was this rubbish from his roleplay partner. He just wanted to go on with what was happening in there, but no, the other just had to go out of his way to ask stuff that was none of his concern anyway. And when did he let his guard down enough for the other to actually know something was bothering him anyway?

He grunted at his own thoughts, writing a reply that he knew full well was harsher than the boy deserved and then leaving his desk.

There wasn't much to occupy himself with in his room. The large, antique French bed took most of the space, accompanied by the massive wooden table he had been occupying less than a minute ago. For a boy of his age, it was surprisingly neat around the room. No boxers lying on the floor, no old dishes with dried, leftover food still attached standing on the table; even his collections, safely stored in cabinet above the table, didn't have a single spot of dust on them.

Aside from the fresh tea stain on his rug, everything was nearly perfect. And the latter was actually the reason for his sour mood as well. Not long before he had had his little fight with Alfred, Peter had charged into the room, crashing directly into him, just as he was about to drink what was left of his tea. Seeing the drink spill all over the floor, the little brat quickly ran out of the room, everything that he was about to say or do immediately forgotten. Which had left Arthur alone in the room, gaping like a fish, slowly processing what just happened.

Scowling at the memory, the British boy looked at his rug with distaste, thinking about how much work it would be to get the frigging thing out of the delicate material. But he would do that later - now he just wanted to do something else. The problem was, he had no idea what.

For a moment he played around with the thought of calling the Beilschmidt brothers. However, he discarded it after mere seconds. Knowing them, Ludwig was either working or studying right now, and Gilbert would probably just want to get drunk. Even if that sounded by far the best thing to do right now, he just wasn't up for it at the moment. Which left him with very few choices.

He didn't have all that many friends, and even fewer he actually hung out with in his free time. With the German brothers out of the picture, the only one he could think of was his neighbour. But hell would freeze over before he voluntarily spent time with Francis. Having absolutely nothing else to do, Arthur lay down onto his bed, playing with the bed sheets, thinking about what the other boy had said. Contrary to common belief, he wasn't mostly alone because of his clothes or his attitude. It was purely his choice. He didn't need, nor did he want, more friends than he had. Which was why he refused Alfred's offer. Probably.

But now, as he was being slowly eaten away by boredom, he couldn't help but think back at what the other boy had said. Accidentally kicking some of the cushions off his bed, he sighed and got up to pick them. His eyes caught a glimpse of his still lit monitor.

Would it really be that bad? It probably wouldn't hurt going out with him just once. Putting the cushion back in its place, he reluctantly walked to his chair, sat down, and, as he took a deep breath, signed back in.

Apologizing wasn't really his thing and neither was socializing. So after mentally preparing himself for what he was going to say, Arthur couldn't help but make a face at what he saw. Sure, leave it to the git to be offline at the worst possible moment.

* * *

The day passed quickly, school was fun as usual, the teacher was passing Alfred his test with a smile that could only mean he aced it. Yeah, right. In reality, Alfred was getting hyperactive from having absolutely nothing to do. Sure he could listen to his teacher talking about derivatives. But really, math? He could be absent the whole year and still pass with an A. So instead he tried to occupy himself with the classroom, which was probably older than he was. It certainly looked it.

Loose plaster was peeling off in more places than it was still attached, leaving cracks all over the walls and the ceiling and looking too much like something taken right out of a horror movie for anybody to feel comfortable in the room. Once light yellow paint had faded into pale grey over the time, apparently just calling to students, inviting them to write on everything from their signatures in bold, barely readable fonts to promises of eternal love they wouldn't keep. He snorted at how stupid people could act sometimes, looking through the window rather than giving any more of his attention to the ugly walls. The weather outside reflected the atmosphere in the classroom eerily well, with dark, heavy clouds floating low in the sky. And they sure didn't improve his mood. Checking to make sure the teacher wasn't paying attention to him by any chance, he pulled out his mobile phone, logging into the chat he usually spent his afternoons on, not really expecting anything interesting to wait there for him, since it was highly unlikely that Arthur had written anything after their spat yesterday. Therefor he was pretty surprised when he saw an "offline message" sign blinking in the corner of his screen. And even more when he noticed that Arthur was actually online right now. First checking the not all that nice message of "where the hell are you, you bloody wanker?" that still managed to warm his heart somehow, he quickly posted that he was right there, in the main chat.

[I can very well see that. What was that about anyway?] came the reply faster than he had thought possible, when typing on a mobile.

[Well, you asked where am I and… here I am! How come you are online anyway? I always thought you would be like this really model pupil or something.]

[I'm at home, obviously. I don't have lectures 'til noon. And yes, I wanted to talk to you yesterday. It doesn't matter now anyway.] Blinking at what the other boy had written, Alfred was confused for a moment. It had never even occurred to him that Arthur could in fact be older than him. And apparently out of high school already. But somehow the second part of what the other had said caught his attention more.

[Oooh, college kid. I didn't know that you're older than me. Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?]

[Didn't I tell you to forget about it? It holds no relevance to anything any more.] He could only sigh at what he was reading. He should have expected it. Even if Arthur behaved extremely mature for his age most of the time, he could be just as childish when it came to certain matters. Like this one right now. And when he got an idea into his head, there was usually very little that could persuade him otherwise.

[Oh. Ok. Then about the thing that happened last Friday...] Luckily, for him at least, Alfred had his ways as well.

[Don't you dare...!] Smirking to himself the blond fixed his glasses that had almost fallen down from where they'd been barely balancing at the tip of his nose, already knowing he had won this time.

[What was I saying again? Oh, yes! Last Friday. You remember it right?] He could practically hear the other furiously typing.

[Ok, ok, ok, you sodding moron. I...let's do it then. Meet once, I mean.] And if Alfred had felt any kind of remorse for blackmailing the poor guy as he did, it vanished at that very moment.

[Seriously? You really want to meet?] He let out a happy laugh, momentarily forgetting that he was still in a class, earning himself some questioning looks sent his way. Nervously he scratched the back of his neck, but just as quickly all of his embarrassment had gone away as well. Once again he focused on his conversation with Arthur.

[No, but you did just blackmail me into telling you what I thought YESTERDAY. Well, I'm not going to back out on what I said either so... meet me in front of The Camden Eye, just across the station, tomorrow at five. Deal?] Alfred wanted to whistle at that. Somebody could be pretty imperious, eh? Not that he really minded. He'd gotten what he wanted after all, hadn't he?

[So, how am I going to recognize you? Want to send me a picture?] It was probably in vain even asking Arthur something like that, but he could at least try, right? And he really did need to know how the other looked.

[I would rather not. However I will probably be wearing some kind of ripped jeans, leather jacket and military boots. What about you?] Oho, that was kind of an edgy look for Mister Perfect on the other side of the net line. However...

[...we're meeting in Camden. Isn't there some more specific feature of you that I could recognize you by?] Seriously, if they would be meeting anywhere else, finding Arthur with the description given would be the easiest thing in the world. But in Camden Town, there were a lot of people dressed in various alternative scene clothing.

[I guess... I have rather expressive eyebrows.] This time Alfred couldn't help but to laugh aloud.

[And by "expressive" you mean big?] The boy could be so amusingly awkward sometimes, saying the most ridiculous of things.

[NO. I said expressive and I mean exactly what I said. Now belt up before I cancel this whole thing off.] Alfred could bet the other was fuming as he wrote that. What an amusing thought that was. However he still had to calm him down, so he decided to drop the matter, instead telling him he would most likely be wearing some kind of skinny jeans, scarf, Vans skaters and glasses. For a few moments Arthur kept silent after that, not writing anything, then asked the last question Alfred had expected him to.

[You aren't one of those emo kids, are you? With dyed black hair, lame accessories, and failed visual-kei haircuts?] The blond boy grimaced at the question. It probably should be expected from the other not to like "emo kids," what with the whole punk attire, of which Alfred had only found out minutes ago, but still, to say it so bluntly... that was usually his thing to do.

[Haha. No, no, I'm not. Don't worry. So, if everything is arranged, I have to go. The teacher looks furious. Bye!] And with that he quickly logged off.

Actually, the teacher hadn't noticed a thing. And even if she had, she wouldn't say a thing. For being talented in math, the blond boy was her pet student.

No, the real reason Alfred had left the chat so suddenly, in favor of being bored to death another fifteen minutes, was because of what the other boy had said at the end of their conversation. What? He didn't lie to Arthur when he said he wasn't. However, the black hair dye he had bought just yesterday still found its way into the dust bin, rather than onto his, still blond, hair. At least he had made his mother happy, even if his reasons had as little to do with her as he had interest in what teacher was still patiently trying to make them understand.

Pocketing his phone, he once again looked out of the window. The heavy, dark clouds that had been covering the sky at the start of the lesson had wandered off to bother some other troubled teenager, leaving the sky clear as his mind, small birds flying around like thoughts, playing with each other without disturbing the one looking at them. The rest of the day would surely fly by much faster than the first few hours had, for the American boy sitting in the third row of a completely insignificant classroom somewhere in the middle of London.

* * *

**A/N: After one chapter...I haven't even gotten to the real point of this story. Because yes, it actually has(will have) a plot! Kinda…**

**Sorry for the chat-speak thingies -.- I know, I know. I hate it too! But it was necessary and I promise there will be less and less of it. What can I do if Arthur has a stick showed up his arse… Enough of my nonsense.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated.**

**Oh, I don't own Vans© either.**

**Enjoy life! ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I am a terrible procrastinator! You know, I wanted to have this chapter out about a week after the first one. Yeah, right.**

**Sorry for all the mistakes in this, I just really wanted to update…*sigh***

**Anyway, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own. And it's better this way. -.-** ˇ

* * *

"Bonjour, mon cher. Going out I see."

Even angels probably didn't talk in such a sing-a-song voice. They most likely didn't have annoying French accent either. And Arthur could bet they weren't, at any moment given, been leaning on his window shelf looking just about ready to simply climb into his room whenever they so much as pleased. He craved the day one of his brothers will finally move away, leaving him a room on the first floor. So, if Arthur summoned it all up, and he really didn't have to - the throbbing vein on his forehead was proof enough - the only conclusion he could made was that the blond boy at his window was no angel. But that was old news. The French boy outside the house was far from being his friend, but he wasn't a stranger or just some neighbour either. Their mothers would say the two were childhood friends, however more than anything else Francis was an arch nemesis to him. And he couldn't stand a thing on the boy. From his flamboyant clothes to his venomous voice, which most of the people would actually describe as rather charming with polite yet somewhat flirtatious undertone, all in all a pleasant voice and not at all how Arthur heard it to be. This same god forsaken voice stopped him mid-track just as he was about to ignore the presence of the other completely and grab his jacket from the wardrobe, since the coat still hanging on the rack in the hallway, the one he had been wearing in past few months, suddenly felt too hot for increasingly warmer temperatures outside. As the other had correctly guessed already, he was indeed going out, in fact, he was already in bit of a hurry. So the last thing he needed now was this nonsense from his neighbour.

"Not even a hello? Is this so important you're ignoring even me? Don't tell me you have a rendez-vous? You know, a date? So, who's the...eh, unlucky girl?"

The British boy wasn't exactly impatient by nature, however, there were some things that could easily make him lost his nerves. And his flamboyant neighbour was one of the things that succeeded at it much better than necessary. Growling under his breath, he felt his anger rapidly rising, as he turned to the pest that was just trying to get onto his window shelf. With quick steps he walked to the window and lightly pushed the other boy, who was already preparing to climb onto the said thing, back out.

"Oh no you don't, get off of my window. What do you even want, you blasted frog? I'm going to no date, so there's no lucky or unlucky girl. Now piss off." With that he gave the French boy another stern gaze and finally took his jacket out of the wardrobe.

"Un garçon, qui? I always knew you..."

His monologue was cut of by low growling and a death glare coming from the Brit, now standing at the entrance to his room, one hand already on doorknob, apparently trying to kill the other with look alone. It sent shivers down the other's spine and not the good kind. It made him want to run away and never come to this place again however, he had knew the other boy long enough to know he was mostly just barking and rarely biting. So he put on his most confident smirk and nonchalantly retorted.

"Stop giving me that look, it makes you even uglier. And I was merely joking, you know. It's obvious you're not going on a date. Nobody would go to a date this under dressed." And all hell broke loose.

"OUT! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Arthur couldn't take it anymore. He was getting a migraine just listening to the long haired blond, what about the other purposely getting on his nerves. He closed his palms into fists, trying to calm down. He didn't like to yell like that, but anger got the better of him once again.

"But mon cher, I'm already outside."

That's when he drew the line. Letting out a scream that could easily match those of any tribal clan, in volume and timidity, he stormed out of the room and his house leaving Francis beside his window, watching after him with a smug look on his face. There was no point for the boy to follow and pester him anymore. He knew when to stop and for one day, he got quite enough amusement from his British friend.

Still fuming with anger after the encounter he had with the French boy earlier, Arthur stomped out of his house, slamming the door as he did so. Cursing the other under his breath, he looked at his watch to find out he was running late already. He was to meet Alfred in less than 50 minutes. Which was, indeed, quite enough time to get to their appointed place of meeting, however, he preferred to be not only on time, but even a few minutes early. Not going to happen this time. Thanks to the people with too much time on their hands. Hopefully, there at least won't be much people on the metro and he could even find a place to sit. Though, at the time given, that was out of the question as well.

* * *

He didn't usually hang out around Camden Town. He had other places he went to with his friends and had mostly stayed away from the place. Not intentionally per say, he just never really had any business there. That didn't mean this was his first time here. He knew it enough to orient himself. However, he still hoped Arthur will already have a place he wanted to go to in mind. Still, that was a problem he will be dealing with later. For now he had yet to find the other boy. He was standing in front of The world's end, their meeting place. He somewhat hoped they were really just meeting there. Not that the place wasn't nice, it actually looked quite lovely, but full of tourists looking for the shelter from approaching rain as well. In other words, it was crowded with people that had absolutely no idea what they were doing there, desperately adverting their eyes from the stares of bartender so they wouldn't have to order anything. Snorting, he turned his gaze towards the people of all kinds emerging from the station. Truth be told, he had no idea how he was to recognize the other boy.

Businessmen trying to catch their train, teenagers hanging around corners, waiting for their friends just like him, large groups of tourists wandering around seemingly lost, passed Alfred before he say him.

Tight ripped jeans were hugging his slim but rather short legs, safely tucked into massive, old, military styled boots, that almost looked like they were going to fall apart at any moment. Under the black leather jacked with numerous badges attached to it, red checkered shirt could be seen, accompanied with large netted belt and a disturbingly realistic looking chain. Short, unruly, blond hair was falling just above boy's eyebrows. And at that moment, Alfred knew that finding his soon to be friend might be far easier than he had initially thought. Boy's brows were about twice the size of ordinary large eyebrows. Together with an annoyed scowl that apparently never left boys face, they gave him even edgier look than he already sported. Glint of silver suggested that he wore a ring in them as well but it could be hardly seen. However, the most curious thing about it all was, that no matter how large his permanently furrowed brows were, they still weren't the feature on his face that drove the most attention to itself. From under his eyebrows a pair of piercing green eyes glared at the world around them, seemingly challenging anyone that dared to look at them. And those eyes were by far the most mesmerizing part of the boy. With a smile, Alfred quickly looked to the right and run across the street. He just might found the one he was looking for.

* * *

In the end, Arthur still managed to arrive few minutes earlier to their meeting place. He already knew the other boy had troubles with exactitude, therefore not really expecting him anywhere around yet. Scowling at no-one in particular, he leaned on the wall of the tube station. They were supposed to meet across of it, all right, but it didn't really matter since he had perfect view on the spot anyway. And the other way around. However, there was no-one matching the description standing there. He puffed up, not really expecting Alfred to be there anyway. No, he had no doubts that the other will show up, Alfred just had a tendency to be late. Even when they had set the time to meet on chat, because it was easier that way than waiting for each other at completely different times, the other would arrive late. Albeit later admitting to actually being on pc already. He was pulled out of his thoughts by someone annoyingly loud trying to apparently get his attention with shouting and poking his arm. Boy, did people get more intruding with every second.

"I'm not taking any opinion poll, and neither will I take any prospects from you."

He didn't even bother to lift his head and look at the person. Whoever it was, will go away sooner or later if he doesn't pay him attention. However, the guy was set on talking to him, going on with it instead of leaving.

"Em...sorry if I'm mistaken but, are you Arthur?"

This got his attention and for the first time he looked at the boy, as he found him to be, and took him in. The first thing that crossed his mind was, that he surely didn't look like some student making opinion polls around. The boy, seemingly a year or two younger than him, was leaning forward into him with his hands in pockets of slim, tight fitting jeans. Checkered laces on his sneakers matched his black and blue scarf that was loosely wrapped around his neck, ends falling over old brown bomber jacket that seemed as out of place as his French neighbour in his room. It didn't look bad per say, it just didn't cope with the rest of his clothes all that well. His eyes slid to the other's smiling face, a pair of sky blue eyes looking at him through the glasses pinched at the end of his nose. With disbelief he moved back a little to regain his invaded personal space.

"Alfred?" He asked incredulously.

"One and only! Man, you really have quite a temper. I hadn't even said anything yet and you already sent me off." The other blond finally moved away a little, hands at his sides, smiling a beaming smile at him.

"Well yes, I didn't exactly expect you here yet. So normally I would send away some random person trying to get me to do one thing or another, I have absolutely no intention of doing."

"What about that annoying pal trying to have nice day hanging out with you?"

Another charismatic, cheeky smile. After less than five minutes spent with the other boy, Arthur already wondered for the first time, just why the overly energetic boy would spend his whole time on the computer when he could obviously charm his way into mostly anybody's heart. A tug on his sleeve pulled him into lively crowd of Camden Town, as Alfred went strolling alongside of shops lining the street they were walking through. The other finally slowed down, turning his head in every direction, looking innocently around, with genuine interest at his surroundings like a child at a fair.

"Oh boy, I hadn't been here in such a long time. Actually, I hadn't really been here all that many times either." he turned back to face Arthur, walking backward as he did so, flailing his hands all around to amplify his point.

"I take it you wouldn't know where you want to go then either."

It didn't take a genius that the other blond really had no idea where they could go, even less where he wanted them to go. For now he was simply walking straight ahead, trying to take in as much as he possibly could. Arthur sighed to himself, trying to think of a place they would both like, since it was obvious that it was up to him to decide now.

"Not in the slightest. But for now, I'm completely happy just walking around, so you don't really have to bother yourself with it."

Arthur snorted. Anybody with their eyes attached and working, could clearly see that Alfred wasn't missing a thing as he merrily walked down the boulevard. However, he thought, sceptically looking at the sky, by the looks of it another downpour was approaching.

"I don't really mind either, though we will still have to find a place inside. And soon." With one hand he pointed to the already dark gray sky, filled with depressing, heavy clouds to explain what exactly he had meant.

"Oh. I guess you're right. Then, shall we take a walk until we find a suitable place, my good sir?"

The British boy could only stare as his companion made a low bow, offering him a hand with weird, supposedly British accent and a beaming smile. He stayed in this pose the whole time until Arthur came to his senses, punching the other lightly into the arm telling him to stop that nonsense and stomped away. With a laugh, Alfred quickly jogged after the flustered Brit before he could get lost on the unfamiliar streets.

Following Arthur around was far from being easy, in fact it was pretty hard even. The other blond was moving around with surprising grace, given his heavy boots and current pouting. He was swiftly avoiding masses coming from the other direction, somehow managing not to bump into even one, whereas Alfred had quite some trouble keeping up with him, finding himself apologizing to random people he had run into on more than one occasion. Finally he caught the other one, hastily grabbing right sleeve of the other's jacket to stop him.

"I was joking before, but do I really need to hold your hand for you not to run away?" He asked taking a bit deeper breaths than normally.

If ever participating in one, British boy surely had good chances winning a fast walk competition. With an expression that could usually be seen only on bulls in cartoons the other nodded off, mumbling something like "No, thank you. It's quite alright as it is." and looked away.

By now they had reached first of the many food stands that were sure to follow. Everything from Chinese fast food to Italian pizzas and mozzarella sandwiches could be found somewhere amongst the many emulative stalls, trying their best to get attention of the people passing them. Elder woman was sticking fork with fried sweet chicken out of her stall with various Asian dishes, inviting passengers to try it. It was fascinating that many tourists were actually walking from stall to stall taking samples anywhere they could, up for free meal apparently. He pointed that out to Arthur who just rolled his eyes, though it seemed to be directed at the oblivious tourists and not Alfred, at least. They had just passed pair of girls feigning interest in some kind of seafood that was dripping sweet and sour sauce, apparently waiting to be offered something, when first drops started to fall. That much for finding a nice place till the rain started.

"Aw man, we'll be soaked at this rate."

Looking at the sky, Alfred held out his hand to catch some of the falling rain drops on his palm. It already began to rain quite heavily, rain drops bouncing off the surfaces of his jacket and wetting his hair. He furrowed his brows, scowling lightly at the sky. How could it be that it always started raining when one least wanted it? The day out with Arthur had already started so nicely but sure, there just had to be something to ruin it. Unbeknown to himself he started pouting, still looking at the sky. However, his companion just chuckled, apparently not bothered by the rain at all.

"Stop it with that face, you look like somebody just took a lollie from you. I suppose we are now to find some place inside a little sooner than we intended. Come, I know a nice pub nearby."

With that he grabbed the hem of his sleeve and gave him a light tug in the right direction. With surprise Alfred stumbled over his feet for a moment and then hastily followed British boy wherever he was headed to.

* * *

Whereas the boy stumbling after him looked more than just a little perplexed with the rain, Arthur didn't mind it all that much. Sure, he wasn't exactly thrilled about getting drenched and possibly sick, yet he didn't find an enemy in the rain, like the other one seemed to. Instead he simply walked in the rain, somewhat content with the world around him for once, even deliberately walking into the poodle once or twice, just because he could. Smiling a little to himself he turned around to look where his companion had been stuck, sudden lack of apologies and other noises striking him a little odd, when dark cover fell over his head. In fit of panic he tried to get the unknown thing off his head, flailing his hands around, grabbing at the soft material and at the same time trying to hit whoever was responsible for his blinded state. His efforts proved futile as two strong arms were suddenly placed on his shoulders holding him steady. One of the hands moved to lift the hem of the thing covering his eyes, up a little, revealing chuckling Alfred staring at him.

"Chill out! I'm not gonna kidnap you or anything! God, you should really see your face right now!"

Not holding back anymore, the taller blond started laughing, leaving Arthur to wonder what actually happened just now. Figuring he could start with the, still unknown, thing over his head he removed it from his head to find out it was Alfred's old bomber jacked. However mysterious it was, that he didn't recognize the thing by its gruesome smell only, it was even bigger of a wonder what it was actually doing on his head. Beside the fact that Alfred had, obviously, put it there for some reason. The confusion must have been visible on his face, since the said boy finally stopped laughing and focused his attention back on Arthur, apparently about to explain the whole thing.

"Well...don't look at me like that! You were practically showering in the rain! And since neither of us has umbrella..."

"You decided to use your jacket instead of it. Splendid. Next time you lure somebody to hang out with you like this, warn him that you're desperate to make a friend and have no idea how to do it." Arthur said and rolled his eyes, however his voice held no malice nor his ever present annoyance. He simply chuckled at the sad puppy that was Alfred currently and walked away towards the pub, ignoring whining protests of "I'm not desperate" that could be heard from behind him, leaving jacket right where the other had put it, taking the improvised umbrella with him. With a barely visible smirk gracing his lips, he keep walking away whilst listening to steps that were following him growing closer and closer, loud splashing noises sounding every time the other's running feet landed on the already wet and puddly asphalt. Suddenly the jacket was lifted of him again, still half of it stayed over, covering him, as Alfred tried to fit himself under it as well.

"And just what, pry tell, do you think you're doing now?"

"Making you seem a little less egoistical?" His smile beaming through his eyes, shining even past his glasses made it obvious that he thought nothing of his actions, as he smiled a cheeky grin at Arthur.

Although they might have shared some things, like the jacket at that moment, enthusiasm for Alfred's action most certainly wasn't amongst them. Which was in fact pretty obvious, if the enormous scowl was anything to judge by.

"That so. Well, that's very nice and all, but...we're here."

Slipping out of the makeshift shelter the shorter boy stepped a nice, big step away from the other, pointing idly at the pub in front of them. If it wasn't for the other boy doing so, Alfred would have missed it. It had no showy signs hanged in the front, screaming out with supposedly Celtic fonts one or another mystical name, all just to attract tourists. Its façade didn't shine out in any of the unusual colors many other pubs sported and under its small roof no people took shelter. Really, if you weren't searching for it and knowing exactly where it is, you wouldn't find it. Quite small, plainly brown, wooden doors opened and a rather unkempt middle-aged man stepped outside, leaning back on the wall beside him right after taking the first step on the road. He didn't look like he was doing best and the place didn't either.

"This...is the place?"

The surprise with a hint of suppressed disgust was obvious on taller blond's face as he followed the man sliding slowly by the wall supporting him with his eyes, as he continued with his way down the road. The sight really wasn't what surprised him the most, one could almost expect a thing like that to happen around such a place. What he found far more unexpected, and somewhat disturbing, was that Arthur was serious when he said that this is the place. The taller blond figured somewhere along the way that Arthur is probably from a pretty rich family, so he had troubles imagining him hanging out in a place like that. But on the other hand, he was quite a surprise as it is and certainly not anything like Alfred had imagined him to be. After few more moments he was shaken out of his thoughts by loud cough coming from the entrance of the pub. A tad bit startled, he hastily turned towards the source of the noise, seeing the other boy clearing his throat to get his attention.

"Are you coming or not? It's not going to eat you, you know."

The voice, as he said that, lacked any real annoyance that one would expect to find in a situation like this. It didn't even hold any of his ever present sarcasm. In fact, it almost seemed the smaller boy was well aware that this wasn't the most fancy place they could go to and wasn't too fond of it either. Still, he was urging him with his eyes to follow him inside, holding the doors open just enough to amplify his point. Not wanting to stand in the more and more heavily pouring rain, the glassed blond hurried inside after his companion, to be pretty pleasantly surprised. Not only did the interior of the pub look much better than it's surroundings, it actually seemed pretty nice once you started to ignore numerous...extraordinary people hanging around the bar. The one and only room of which the pub consisted was far from spacious, yet it was still big enough for tables to be on nice distance from each other, allowing visitors, in companionship of dim lights, some privacy. Everything, from scarce furniture to wood lined walls seemed old, yet lacking the antique feeling, which made it somewhat unclear if it was old on purpose or did it just aged with the pub, never replaced in this whole time. Not really his cup of tea, but all in all, it was nice enough place and Alfred was mostly just happy they had a somewhere to stay at during the summer storm happening outside. Noticing his companion had already made his way towards one of the tables in the corner farthest from the entrance, where he was still standing, he quickly hurried after him.

"I have to say it's a pretty nice place...inside. I, well..."

He paused in the middle of his sentence, trying to find the right words. However, the other boy beat him to it.

"Didn't really know what to expect when standing outside?" He finished the sentence for him, the edge of his lips lifting just a tiniest bit upwards in what could be a mocking smirk.

"Well, yeah" Was all that the taller boy could muster out while fighting his embarrassment. However, he did not stay phased by it for too long, instead turning his attention to whatever thing came first to his mind. Turning back to the table beside them, he took a seat in the corner, having a view over the whole pub. Following his example, Arthur seated himself across of the other, checking around for any nearby waiters. Finding one coming towards them already, he looked back at his companion to see him intensely focusing on the menu, frowning slightly now and then.

"Can't decide on what to order?" He asked, pointing at the menu in the other's hands with his index finger.

"No, not really. I always order the same. It's just that there are no alcohol-free drinks on the menu" Alfred said, still furrowing his brows.

He was pretty sure he will get his wish, but it still struck him as odd. Because really, having only booze on the menu is more than just a little unusual. His frustrating thoughts were interrupted by single quiet laugh that emerged from the other boy. He looked up in confusion, not knowing what actually surprised him more; that the other boy even laughed, for the first time no less, or that he had absolutely no idea what he was laughing about.

"You may want to take a look at the other menu, it's right in front of you. And why are you even bothering with it, if you already know what you're going to order anyway?"

His mistake apparently amused Arthur enough so that his comment, that was sure to be snappy and annoyed under normal circumstances, was actually said in good humor. And it made Alfred look on the table again. Only them he noticed that indeed, there was another piece of plastified paper on the wooden surface. Making a face at it, he was about to ask if his companion didn't need to take a look it when the waiter finally came to them, asking for their orders. After brief greeting and him ordering coke he realized that no, Arthur did not need the menu either.

"Earl gray for me please, with just a tad bit of milk. And you don't have to add sugars."

Because apparently, simply saying black tea just doesn't do the trick for some people. Alfred smiled despite himself, as a sudden thought crossed his mind.

"No wonder roleplaying Igiko suits you so well, you are British all over!" He exclaimed loudly, flailing his hand around until finally setting to pointing an accusing finger at the boy seated across of him.

"Move your limbs out of my face. And isn't that to be expected? I am from London after all." The other replied trying to slap the annoying finger away. Finally doing as he was asked to, Alfred crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat, still laughing slightly.

"That doesn't mean much, y'know. I live in London as well and I have no nineteenth century traits in me."

The taller blond knew he was walking on the line, saying things like that to someone he barely knew, especially somebody like Arthur. But man, the expression the other made after hearing his latest remark, made his insecurity almost completely worth it. Head held high, the Briton turned away, looking down on the boy across the table from the corner of his eyes. And even though he wore even bigger scowl than before and was apparently trying to kill him with his glare, he looked like he was pouting more than anything else. Which just made Alfred grin wider.

"Like you have to tell me that. Your horrible accent would give you away to a deaf man! Stars and stripes on your frames are a nice touch as well." He spat out while raising his brows at the mentioned object.

However, the other boy just beamed him a huge smile and leaned forward over the table, looking excited about something.

"Really? You like my glasses?"

Man, that was a surprise! Nobody seemed to like this frames except for his father. Well, for some reason his companion looked somewhat confused at his statement before furrowing his brows in annoyance again.

"Sarcasm, Alfred, sarcasm." the shorter boy said, sending another glare across the table. "Not that you seem to actually understand it."

"Hey, there's plenty of sarcasm within me!" The taller of the two opposed with semi-loud shout, wearing a pout of his own.

However, the face that the other made at that, was almost as priceless as the one before. He seriously didn't think it was possible for someone to raise their brows this high. Well, the only exception from before was that he didn't exactly try to provoke it this time.

"No, but there's certainly lots of irony." Arthur retorted, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"Huh?"

Resisting the urge to facepalm heavily, the British boy rather changed the topic to something that was a bit more to his liking and at least didn't include American symbols and completely oblivious blonds. No wonder they have more fun.

"Ah forget it. Talking to you really does fell like I'm talking to Ameriko. I guess we are a pretty good match after all."

On the second thought, it still included both; blonds and America. But that was beside the point, especially since his company for the day got a weird smile on his face for some reason.

"Told ya, Igiko, you will fall for me eventually!"

Grinning like an idiot, Alfred leaned forward in his chair, to look his companion directly in the eyes. It didn't really matter to him if the other played along or not, teasing Arthur was already amusing enough. However, he was still pleasantly surprised that Arthur did continue with the little game. Or maybe that was just him speaking.

"Shut your trap, wanker. I did no such thing to imply something like that."

"You totally did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"So you're saying that I'm lying? Oh c'mon! Look at this big blue eyes and say that they are lying!"

With fake hurt he grabbed the front of his shirt, as if his heart was shredding to pieces inside his chest and looked across the table with almost teary eyes.

Blinking in amusement and confusion, Arthur mused at the sappy act he just witnessed. The American boy was in fact quite a good actor, however, the whole scene was just...

...Ridiculous.

And apparently, the opinion was mutual, as they bursted out laughing simultaneously. It was at that moment that they really felt like they didn't just meet each other for the first time less than two hours ago, but more like mates that were unable to meet for some time. And it was probably the closest call to their real situation as well.

Sighing, Alfred leaned back in his chair, giving the other chance to regain his personal space. Looking out of the matted window on the street, where the droplets of rain could still be seen falling, he drank some of his cola, that the waiter had brought during their talk and thought about the idea that had suddenly hit him.

"Hey, Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"Ever thought about real life roleplaying?"

* * *

**Just to clear things up, through that "Did not! Did too!" game, they were supposedly in characters. It may seem obvious to you, but I wasn't so sure about it since well…it is kinda hard to tell the difference between Alfred roleplaying as Ameriko and Alfred being himself…** ^^;

**Pffft~ So yeah, that's the "big" point behind all this. Now I want to ask all of you that roleplay some things. Do you know your RP partners in RL? If you do, do you ever talk about it outside the RP itself? If so, had you ever stayed in character while being actually together?**

**I had thought about it a few times and came to the conclusion that it would be incredibly awkward due to the events that usually takes place in our RPs. XD However, I have no trouble imagining our lovely guys trying it out. =3**

**Enjoy life! ^^**


End file.
